Monday, November 20, 2017

By Jeff Simpson The holiday weeks get a bit too crazy and I end up getting backed up. Time to catch up on some stories under the radar.

1. Christian Schneider, the hack Bradley "columnist" at USA today, has weighed in on the Judge Roy Moore for Senate campaign. It did not disappoint as he weighed in exactly where I expected him too. Vote for the pedophile to save the Republican tax cuts.Moore's evident predilections for young girls have put Republicans around the nation in an untenable position. If Moore were to lose the seat to Democratic challenger Doug Jones, the GOP majority would slip to 51, making it tougher to keep promises like tax reform. But if Moore were to win, the Republican Party would be saddled with a likely pedophile within its ranks — typically a sub-optimal message for a party facing crucial midterm elections next year.2. As Donald Trump campaigned on this issue:

If I am elected President I will immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline. No impact on environment & lots of jobs for U.S.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2015

“We need a president who will approve the Keystone pipeline on the very first day in office and then seek to level the playing field for all sources of energy,” he said during his campaign launch speech in July.

The Green Bay Packers handed out small American Flags during the Packers-Lions Monday Night Game, as part of the NFL's Salute to Service Military Campaign."During the National Anthem, everybody was waving (their flags) and singing," Marine veteran Tegan Griffith told WTMJ. "It made me feel very good."However, by halftime, Griffith says she and her fellow veterans noticed many of the flags were discarded."We started noticing people leaving (flags) on the ground, next to food wrappers and beer cups," Griffith explained. "We found a couple on the bathroom floor. The veterans I was with started to get a little upset."After the game, the flags were seen everywhere.

Not a single person in Wisconsin is surprised. 5. Ever wonder what Brad Schimel does on his weekends? Hint: It sure isn't processing the incredible backlogs of rape kits in WI!

Madison – Last weekend, according to an agenda obtained by MapLight, Brad Schimel appears to have attended an opulent retreat and fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago that the Republican Attorney’s General Association (RAGA) did its best to hide.The weekend’s activities included: a dinner with $125,000-per-year donors to the RAGA, golf tournaments, catamaran tours and numerous fundraisers. Most alarmingly, on the agenda, was a panel dubiously titled “Rule of Law Restoration Update: 370 Days since the election of President Trump.”Secrecy for the event was a top priority, as it was not made public and the agenda notes that “cell phone use and picture taking is prohibited in all areas.”

Again the people of Wisconsin are not surprised. 6. In more unsurprising news, we get a glimpse of the incompetence of Wisconsin Republicans that led Wisconsin to be this much of a mess. First term Assembly Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R- River Falls) put out a press release telling everyone how proud he was to vote for Scott Walkers backwards budget.

“I am proud to have voted for the recently approved Wisconsin state budget, a budget that provides the largest increase in K-12 funding in state history and directs funds to training that will close our skills gap, all while keeping property taxes in check and our financial house in order, including a substantial increase to Wisconsin’s rainy day fund,” said Zimmerman.

The problem however is Mr. Zimmerman did not vote for (or against) the budget as he was shirking his duties as a taxpayer paid full time legislator and was actually in Amsterdam.

The 45-year-old businessman was stuck at the airport in Amsterdam, where he had gone on a business trip for Sajan Inc., his language translation business. Many flights had been grounded in Holland's capital that day because of poor weather conditions.On the roll call for final passage of the budget in the Assembly, Zimmerman was recorded as the only state rep to be absent for the vote. The bill passed on a 57-39 vote.

Zimmerman, with his ability to think he votes on bills when he was thousands of miles away, he is going to take his crackerjack job as a first time assembly rep and run for State Senate. When called on it he channeled his inner Charlie Brown:

"I'm not trying to be deceptive at all, good grief," he concluded.

I guess when it comes to taking tough important votes Rep. Zimmerman is